I often say that “Loneliness is a sickness invitation.” Being alone or solitude is where Sattva is in center. Loneliness is where either Tamas or Rajas is in center.
Mind – Matter and the binding link Prana – That is the dynamism associated with our body.
This is the reason, सत्संग (Company of good nature) is prescribed as essential step for self-realization.
Being sociable boosts gut microbe diversity in chimpanzees
As per this study, Being sociable boosts gut microbe diversity in chimpanzees. This is pretty much true for us too.
Reason how neighborhood, school circle, college circle, office circle shape our life.
Spending time in close contact with others often means risking catching germs and getting sick. But being sociable may also help transmit “good” microbes, finds a multi-institutional study of gut microbiomes in chimpanzees.
Even if I am teetotaler and not smoking but my social circle is full of them, I will share GUT health/sickness with them!! it is all game of Prana!!
No wonder why Satsang is prescription in Ayurveda!!
Solution is in get rid off mental indigestion. Continuous fine tuning of indriya and sensory perception captured by them, detecting indigestion of thoughts in early stage and divert mind for better alternatives.
सतताध्ययनं वाद- परतन्त्रावलोकनं तद्विद्याचार्यसेवा इति बुद्धि मेधाकरो गण| – सुश्रुत चिकित्सा
Continuous स्व-अध्यन (स्वाध्याय ), hearing moral tales (Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagwad Gita, Bhagwat) and company of good teachers (सत्संग) helps in fine tuning intellect to avoid indigestion of mind.
Sattvik person – Think before act. First think about action’s impact on भूतसमुदाय (Body, senses, intellect and mind) and then Act.
Rajasik person – First act and then think about adverse effects. Most of them are of repenting nature.
Tamasik person – He does not even think about effects of actions.
By this understanding, more or less, we all are under great influence of Tamas of Kaliyug.
Solution?
Reduce your tamas, rajas and increase Satva.
How?
सात्विक सत्संग (Living with सात्विक group of people),सात्विक श्रवण (Listening/watching/reading सात्विक life enriching),सात्विक(Enough is explained here) आहार,सात्विक साधना
Research
Gregarious Chimps Harbor Richer Gut Microbiomes
Spending time in close contact with others often means risking catching germs and getting sick. But being sociable may also help transmit “good” microbes, finds a multi-institutional study of gut microbiomes in chimpanzees.
Researchers monitored changes in the gut microbes and social behavior of wild chimpanzees over eight years in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. They found that the number of bacteria species in a chimp’s GI tract goes up when the chimps are more gregarious.
The results help scientists better understand the factors that maintain a healthy gut microbiome.
The warm, soft folds of our intestines are home to hundreds of species of bacteria and other microbes that help break down food, synthesize vitamins, train the immune system and fight infections. Reduced gut microbial diversity in humans has been linked to obesity, diabetes, Crohn’s and other diseases.
“The more diverse people’s microbiomes are, the more resistant they seem to be to opportunistic infections,” said Andrew Moeller, research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, who co-authored the study published in the Jan. 15 issue of Science Advances.
Moeller and colleagues analyzed the bacterial DNA in droppings collected from 40 chimpanzees between 2000 and 2008. The chimpanzees ranged in age from infants to seniors.
The researchers identified thousands of species of bacteria thriving in the animals’ guts, many of which are also commonly found in humans, such as species of Olsenella and Prevotella.
The team then combined the microbial data with daily records of what the animals ate and how much time they spent with other chimps versus alone.
“Chimpanzees tend to spend more time together during the wet season when food is more abundant,” said Duke University research scientist Steffen Foerster, who co-authored the study. “During the dry season they spend more time alone.”
The researchers found that each chimpanzee carried roughly 20 to 25 percent more bacterial species during the abundant and social wet season than during the dry season.
But the microbiome differences weren’t solely due to seasonal changes in the fruit, leaves and insects that make up their diet, the researchers found. The chimps’ shifts between hobnobbing and loner lifestyles were also important.
A study finds that frequent social interactions like these can help maintain a healthy gut microbiome.
